With heightened interest in antique furniture and heirloom pieces, coupled with a greater interest in recycling and reuse, greater demands are being made for quality furniture repair and restoration services. Such services are primarily provided by professional furniture builders, reupholsterers, boat and auto upholstery shops, etc., and to a lesser extent by hobbyists and do-it-yourselfers.
One of the least forgiving tasks associated with re-upholstering furniture has been staple removal. One misplacement, slip or errant thrust of a staple removing tool can create additional restoration work or even ruin a valuable piece of furniture. It is critical that the high quality, and oftentimes decorative wood typically found, for instance, where the fabric is stapled into a groove (e.g., about a quarter inch in width) in the back of the chair, be preserved. Gouging or otherwise marring the wood during this process, or when pulling staples placed in error, must be avoided at all cost. This could mean the difference in the actual worth of the piece since none of the wood is marred in the reupholstering phase of refinishing the piece.
Known tools for removing staples can make wood preservation a challenge. Heretofore known tools are characterized by sharp edges or sharp points, or both, for raising the bridge or bight portion of a staple from a work piece. Tools having chisel type bits insertable under the bight portion of a staple are well known. These sharp, pointed bit type tools are positioned at a 90 degree angle to the bight portion of the staple and "hammered" or "slammed" thereunder, either by hand or by known mechanical or pneumatic means.
A widely used bit type tool is that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,310,288 issued to Berry. It has a head or fork portion comprising spaced apart knife and crimp points. The longitudinal axis of the tool is aligned perpendicular to the bight portion of the staple, with the knife point hammered thereunder to upwardly lift the staple by a wedging action of the knife point. Thereafter, rotation of the tool about the longitudinal axis (i.e., moving the fork in a lateral direction), until the free edge of the fork engages the work piece, causes the crimping point to engage and crimp the bight of the staple. This action effectively shortens the bight of the staple, causing upward lift in a leg, with further 180 degree rotation required to remove the other leg (i.e., both staple legs) from the work piece. In addition to the sharp points and edges of this tool which are potentially detrimental to the finish of the work piece, the rotating, pole-vault type action of the fork edges against the work piece, at least once and more likely twice--in a separate spot on the work piece, is unacceptable, and such style of tool is particularly unfit when removing staples from a non-flat surface, as surface gouging is certain.
Jawed tools are also known for the removal of staples from furniture and the like. As with bit type tools, jawed tools are intended to be perpendicularly aligned relative to the bight portion of the staple for slamming or otherwise forcing a pointed lower jaw thereunder such that the bight might be grasped by the opposing jaws and the staple removed. Typically the lower jaw further functions as a moment arm as it pivotally engages the work piece, with subsequent pulling or twisting necessary to remove the legs, and thus the staple, from the work piece. Here, as with bit type tools, there exists a great probability for damaging the wood and or fabric, as when pulling staples placed in error etc., with such a tool, even when skillfully used by a craftsperson. Furthermore, such jawed tools are undesirable for removing staples from a curved or grooved work piece, as damage to the furniture finish is almost certain.